Molecular Evolution of diverse RNA kinase family proteins and construction of mutant enzymes based on the evolutionary data

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K07517
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Evolutionary biology
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: KANAI Akio 慶應義塾大学, 環境情報学部(藤沢), 教授 (60260329)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 分子進化 / ポリヌクレオチドリン酸化酵素 / 情報学的解析 / 実験検証 / 巨大タンパク質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We conducted a large-scale molecular evolutionary analysis of the Clp1 family proteins, a polyribonucleotide 5'-hydroxyl kinases. In total, 3,557 Clp1 family proteins were detected in the three domains of life, Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Many were from Archaea and Eukarya, but a few were found in restricted, phylogenetically diverse bacterial species. The domain structures of the Clp1 family proteins also differed among the three domains of life. Although the proteins were, on average, 555 amino acids long (range, 196-2,728), 122 large proteins with > 1,000 amino acids were detected in eukaryotes. The polyribonucleotide kinase activity of Thermus scotoductus Clp1 was characterized experimentally. We propose a comprehensive assessment of the diversification of the Clp1 family proteins and the molecular evolution of their functional domains.

Free Research Field

分子進化学、分子生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

RNAキナーゼであるClp1に関して、タンパク質のドメインレベルで、特に真核生物において機能の分担をしながら分子進化していく様相を明らかにできた。この研究過程で、Clp1のキナーゼドメインを有した巨大タンパク質 (Clp1様タンパク質)を見出した。Clp1はヒトで遺伝病の原因遺伝子となっていることから、今回見出したClp1様タンパク質も遺伝病に関わる可能性がある。また、バクテリアで初めてとなるClp1分子を同定し、その生化学的な活性に関して検証した。